I first heard “Little John’s Hame” played by Dermot Byrne and James Cullinan at an amazing concert at the Corofin Traditional Festival back in 2013. This strathspey really stuck in my head the the following day I learned it from a video I found of Dermot Byrne playing with Tommy Peoples.
I learned “Jenny Picking Cockles” from Terry Bingham, who recorded it with Dermot Byrne on his album “Traditional Irish Music from Doolin, Co. Clare”. I also associate this tune with my good friend Paolo Cerato.
“I Ne’er Shall Wean Her” is a beautiful jig that I learned from Christy McNamara’s album “The House I Was Reared In”. Christy is an amazing photographer as well and he has taken some great photos of musicians over the past 30 years.
“The Humours of Slip Jig” is a slip jig very much associated with Donegal music. I learned it from accordion player Dermot Byrne, who is now based in Clare.
“The Glen Road To Carrick” is a great reel from Donegal which I learned from the playing of James Cullinan and Dermot Byrne. They played an amazing concert at the Corofin Trad Fest back in 2013, and I learned this tune afterwards. They actually recorded it a good few years ago (1987!) for a TG4 program (see the video).
